Everyone in her family liked apples.

Kim Yong Sun loved them.

The woman often bragged about once eating three apples in succession. Her older sister cringed at the thought of it and cursed her inability to gain weight despite eating so much. Yongsun just smirked smugly at Yonghee.

Yongsun’s obsession with the fruit started from when she was a child, her family owned a multitude of apple trees en route to her grandmother’s house, so whenever she did her weekly visit to the old woman, she made sure to pick a few apples for her to munch on during the trip and some for her family.

It was maybe a three-hour walk from her home to the old woman’s cottage, but she never complained about the journey. It was nothing short of enjoyable. She was free during these mini-adventures, often humming in solitude while the breeze sailed smoothly against her long brown hair.

But her visit this week was... eventful, to put it nicely. If she was being honest– she’d say frustrating.

Yongsun was never a morning person, but she always woke up early for these weekly visits. She immediately left the vicinity of her home, and after a quick stop at the market for her grandmother’s favorite pastries, Yongsun’s face lit up at the thought of eating her favorite fruit.

That’s what should’ve happened. Not this. What happened to the peaceful and jolly adventure? The soothing wind? And who is this– this person eating and picking her their apples?

“Yah!” formalities be damned, “Thief!”

Said thief ignored her, causing Yongsun to become more infuriated. The latter stomped and approached the thief, tapping their shoulder with an annoyed expression. She tried to stay angry, really, but her furrowed eyebrows shot up and her cheeks were tinted with the lightest shade of red when the stranger turned around, her face merely inches away from Yongsun.

The stranger blinked as Yongsun slightly backed away, shaking her head, ‘I’m mad. I’m mad.’

Clearing , she glared at the stranger munching on their apple while hugging about a few more in her arms, “Excuse me but you’re not supposed to take those. My family owns them,” she successfully avoided stumbling on her words.

The stranger raised her hand as she chewed the last portion of the fruit, as if saying wait, and Yongsun could only stare in disbelief, “Stop eating!”

The taller woman swallowed and dropped the remains of the fruit onto the grassy earth, much to Yongsun’s misery, “Oh you meant the apples?”

Yongsun’s eye twitched, “Yes, I meant the apples,” she exhaled to control her temper, “Now would you please return those?”

“You’re very cute but you’re not smart, aren’t you?” Yongsun gaped, baffled at the rudeness.

“I can’t give back what’s inside my stomach already, unless you want my puke or something?”

Yongsun instantly adapted a disgusted face, “No! I was talking about the apples in your hands!”

“Oh,” the stranger looked down, “Oh.”

It was hard– resisting the urge to grab the nearest stone and use it to smack some sense to this stranger. Yongsun heavily heaved a sigh. She felt so, so tired already.

“I can’t give them back either.”

“What–”

“–Don’t you know who I am?” the attractive cocky stranger asked with a small grin. Yongsun huffed, “I could care less even if you’re the queen of the land. Now give them back.”

It took a good minute or two of complete silence before the silver-haired stranger abruptly laughed, “Omo, you really don’t know who I am.”

“There’s nothing funny about this,” glared Yongsun.

“Sorry, sorry, but this is really rare,” the woman said, still cackling, “A pretty fool. Yeppun babo. Yeba. I’m going to call you Yeba from now on.”

Because the woman was clutching her sides laughing, she missed how Yongsun’s face reddened for a split-second.

‘Stop being flattered, what the hell.’

“Anyways–” she heard the stranger again, “As for the fruits, I can’t give them back. Besides, this is only like four apples compared to the hundreds you have here.”

“No, no, you don’t get it. These are apples. Apples.”

“What, do you have a on them or something?”

“Wha–” Yongsun felt outraged at this point, “God, help me.”

“I don’t think God helps fallen angels,” the stranger winked.

“Stop.”

The stranger chuckled, “Well, this was fun, but I’m afraid I need to go.”

“What? No,” Yongsun groaned but the woman had already dashed past her and went deep into the dense forest.

“Yah!”

“You’re just asking for a beating, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m asking if you live around here.”

Yongsun exhaled. Irritation was pretty much evident on her face, yet this idiot stranger was still bothering her as if it was her life mission. She was either extremely dense or ignoring Yongsun’s frustrations– if she was, Yongsun wouldn’t hesitate throwing her beloved apples just for something to use as ammunition.

Yongsun groaned, ‘What did I do to deserve this?’

When she had arrived earlier, she couldn’t have been more relieved when the thief from last week wasn’t anywhere to be found. It was short-lived though– when the leaves above her began rustling, revealing the aforementioned thief who jumped down and scared the living daylights out of Yongsun. The stranger’s amused smirk at her reaction certainly did not help the situation.

“Hello,” the woman greeted.

“Hello,” Yongsun presented a fake smile and walked past her, “–and goodbye.”

Her farewell went ignored as the thief easily caught up with her, asking questions that were way too personal for someone you just met.

“Yeba?” the woman asked, prompting Yongsun to glare at her. That was not her name. She simply got a cheeky smile in return, “Oh good, you were spacing out for a minute there.”

“Why are you following me?” Yongsun interrupted, her feet refusing to take another step with this stranger.

“Because you’re interesting,” the stranger said, “And pretty.”

“You know what– nevermind. Do what you want. Just go away.”

“I’ve been waiting for you all week, Yeba. How can you just send me away?” the stranger pouted and Yongsun scolded herself for thinking how cute her pout was.

“No one asked you to do that,” Yongsun scowled, “And my name isn’t Yeba!”

“What’s your name then? Mine’s Byulyi,” asked Byulyi, munching on an apple that she definitely she stole again. Yongsun groaned, maybe she’ll go away if Yongsun ignored her.

But life hates Yongsun.

“I guess she only comes on Sundays,” mumbled Yongsun, scanning around the vicinity for the silver-haired greaseball.

‘Wait, why am I waiting for her?’ she shook her head and returned her focus on the path leading to her grandmother’s house. Yongsun took a deep breath, soaking in the nature without any of the past weeks’ certain... disturbances.

She missed this, ‘Peace and silen–’

“That’s enough already.”

‘–Nevermind,’ Yongsun whipped her head to the direction of the voice. How in the world did this place get so populated lately?

“There is no ‘enough’ in my dictionary,” a softer voice replied. The two voices continued to bicker, drawing in Yongsun’s curiosity who then eventually approached them.

“Byulie-unnie is going to kill us if we’re not back by the time she returns!” Yongsun’s eyebrows rose at the mention of her personal troublemaker. It didn’t take long before she sees the two arguing people with… tails?

‘Oh, werewolves,’ she thought while eyeing them curiously.

It wasn’t really a once-in-a-lifetime sight– werewolves were known to thrive in their area but they had never dared to approach the townsfolk because of some history that Yongsun’s unaware of. All she knew was that they were supposed to avoid them.

Which was the exact opposite of what she was doing.

“Okay, okay! Here, help me carry these back,” the shorter of the two said as she shoved god knows how many apples to her companion. Yongsun assumed those were their apples again.

“These are too many,” the other one grunted.

“You can never have too–”

Yongsun’s feet accidentally broke a twig and two heads snapped at her direction, their furry ears perking up.

“– it’s a human, Wheein-ah,” the slightly taller one hissed.

“She looks harmless.”

“Would someone harmless sneak up on– what are you doing!?” her other’s protests went ignored as Wheein happily approached Yongsun, “Hello!”

Yongsun also threw all caution and history to the wind as she waved back, smiling at the cuteness of the werewolf.

“This is a bad idea, Jung Whee In.”

“Relax Hyejin-ah,” Wheein replied, causing Hyejin to slap her forehead, “You’re a wolf not a puppy who welcomes humans at doorstep!”

Hyejin, contrary to Wheein who was welcoming Yongsun with wide open arms, was snarling with her claws at full display in order to threaten the human to stay back. Said human was too distracted with Wheein’s dimple though. The two quickly got acquainted like two peas in a pod, much to Hyejin’s horror and disbelief. She had stopped her growls after seeing that this… odd creature human was truly harmless. Hopefully.

After what seemed like days of waiting, Hyejin had enough and nudged Wheein, “If you still remember me, your dear friend since birth, we have to go back now.”

“Oh right. See you next time Yongsun-unnie,” Wheein gave her a dimpled smile once again and Yongsun resisted the urge to adopt said werewolf.

An irritated Hyejin sneered, “I’m throwing you to the fire if Byulie-unnie’s there.”

“No, you won’t. You love me too much.”

“Wanna test that?”

Wheein was about to fire back a reply when Yongsun tapped her shoulder, “Did you say Byulie-unnie?”

“Yes…?”

“As in Byulyi? Silver hair? Apple thief?”

“Apple thief?” Wheein mumbled until formed an ‘o’ as if a light bulb lit up above her, “You must be Yeba!”

Yongsun’s smile comically twitched in annoyance, “Y-Yes.”

“Unnie’s right. You’re interesting. No wonder she talks about you so much,” Wheein stated, taking note of the small pink tint on Yongsun’s cheeks.

“That meant these apples we just stole belongs to them,” Hyejin whispered to Wheein. The latter’s eyes widened at the realization and quickly bowed to Yongsun, “Oh crap. Sorry Yongsun-unnie–”

The eldest quickly dismissed her, “No, don’t worry, it’s okay.”

The werewolves gawked in confusion, “Byulie-unnie said you were ready to rip her head off when she stole your apples.”

“What– she said that? I wasn’t that mean… Was I? I don’t even know how we started off the wrong foot. I mean, if she didn’t call me an idiot in the first place or maybe if she wasn’t–” Yongsun rambled on and on.

“Probably. Byulie-unnie’s nice. I mean she stole those apples in the first place because of Wheein’s cravings,” Hyejin rolled her eyes.

“Because they’re delicious,” Wheein mumbled with a pout. The two proceeded to argue, instantly ignoring Yongsun’s presence. She didn’t mind though since her mind was occupied with new thoughts on a certain thief.

‘So maybe she isn’t as bad as I thought… Still annoying though.’

Yongsun came to a conclusion later that night– that maybe Byulyi wasn’t as annoying as she had originally thought neither. The day had been eventful and Yongsun was more than ready to end it when a tapping sound reverberated in her room. She sighed, “Unnie, I swear if this is you pranking me again.”

She buried her head deeper to the pillow, ignoring whatever it was that her sister had planned. The times Yonghee pulled off elaborate pranks just to mess with her little sister were already too much for one to keep counting and Yongsun was not the least bit happy. Add in the fact that she was too sleepy for this. And a sleepy Yongsun was not one to be trifled with.

The tapping repeated, making Yongsun groan in frustration. She was about to storm out of the room and to Yonghee’s, when she realized that the soft knocks came from the sole window in her quarters. She gulped in fear, remembering the scary stories her sister used to always tell her.

“I’m just imagining things,” she nervously chuckled.

She waited– and the tapping started again. Sighing in defeat, she approached the window and allowed the evening breeze to extinguish the only candle in her room.

“This is not scary at all,” Yongsun tried to convince herself. Because anything that comes from outside her window is full of joy. Right. Her head peeked out and searched for the source of the noise. It took a good minute or two of looking around the dark street below when–

“You heard me!” Byulyi appeared out of nowhere– her head hanging upside down and once again frightening the life out of Yongsun. The brunette’s shriek was loud enough for Yonghee, who was in the adjacent room, to wake up and pound ceaselessly on her door.

“Yongsun!? Are you alright? Open the door!”

Yongsun cursed and motioned for Byulyi to hide again as she shut her window. She hastened to open the door afterwards, revealing a worried Yonghee with a rolling pin in hand.

“What happened?”

“N-Nothing unnie, just a rat,” Yongsun stuttered, holding back a snicker at her sister’s choice of weapon. After a flick to Yongsun’s forehead, Yonghee returned to her room, grumbling about sisters and scaredy-cats. Normally that would’ve made Yongsun frown and argue back, but she was too distracted by a certain window intruder.

“What do you think you’re doing!?” Yongsun hissed as Byulyi jumped into her room with ease.

“Your room’s pretty–” Byulyi commented.

“I didn’t invite you inside,” Yongsun deadpanned.

“–just like the owner,” Byulyi added with a cheeky grin.

“You don’t take a break, do you?”

“Not for lovely apple enthusiasts.”

“Oh god,” Yongsun groaned, hiding her flushed face behind her palm so the greaseball wouldn’t know the effect she had on her, “How did you even know where I live?”

“I followed the scent of a goddess.”

“Answer me properly before I toss you out the window.”

Byulyi chortled while Yongsun took note of the wrinkles on her nose, “I asked a good friend of mine here in town. It’s a small world,” Yongsun didn’t pay attention to what followed as her mind was stuck on hunting whoever this ‘good friend’ was for giving away personal information. She grunted, “Why are you here?”

“I heard you ran into Wheein and Hyejin today,” Byulyi replied as she sat on the windowsill, her eyes refusing to leave Yongsun’s figure. Then, as if their previous banters didn’t exist, the thief slipped on a serious yet tender expression, catching Yongsun off-guard.

Byulyi’s spot there had Yongsun gazing for more than a few seconds– she looked breathtaking. Ethereal even, bathing in the moonlight with her silver hair. Yongsun blinked and noticed the smile on Byulyi’s lips. A blush crept up to her cheeks, ‘She must’ve caught me staring.’

Fortunately, Byulyi said nothing about it, patiently waiting for Yongsun’s reply.

“Um– yeah, she’s cute,” Yongsun cleared , “The other one too, although she’s kind of scary.”

Byulyi giggled softly, “She can be adorable once you get past that ‘fatal’ exterior. They liked you by the way. Wheein kept going on and on about how nice you were.”

“Thank you for that. It’s been a while since they met a decent human. Those two are like my family so it means a lot to me– even if this doesn’t mean anything to you since we’re not on good terms,” she continued and Yongsun couldn’t help but remain silent at the sudden change of attitude.

Byulyi hopped off from her seat and closed the distance between her and Yongsun, making the latter hitch her breath, “Wheein also told me that we might’ve started off the wrong foot. So, if you’re willing, we can start over,” she extended her hand, “I’m Moon Byul Yi. Apple thief.”

Yongsun laughed heartily as Byulyi beamed at her response. She accepted her hand and shook it, “Kim Yong Sun. Apple enthusiast,” the thief’s hand was cold, but Yongsun was a tad disappointed when Byulyi took her hand back.

“Kim Yong Sun-ssi, are you interested in a short but magical evening adventure?”

Yongsun wasn’t sure why she agreed– although she’s sure to scrap her hunting plans and instead thank whoever the previously mentioned ‘good friend’ was.

These little secret escapades of theirs went on for almost every night. As much as Yongsun hates to admit it, she’s having the time of her life as Byulyi guided her through places she’s never been before. Some were quite dull but Byulyi magically makes it fun. Yongsun doesn’t know how.

Like that one time when they went atop a cliff with a raging waterfall just by its side. The scenery wasn’t that magnificent– the lake below was too dark at night and frankly, if she went here alone, she would’ve been looking back her shoulder every now and then to see if a monster would jump out and eat her alive.

It was amusing how Byulyi managed to take her fears away through the most bizarre of ways. Byulyi held her wrist and dragged her to the edge, much to her protests and Byulyi’s amusement. Thankfully, they stopped at least a meter before the ground beneath their feet disappeared. Yongsun took a deep breath, relieved that her murder didn’t just happen. She returned her attention at the thief, seeing a wide smirk on her face, and Yongsun’s jaw dropped.

The idiot thief jumped backwards, her battle cry echoing throughout the vicinity until she came in contact with the cold water.

Yongsun rushed to the lake below, it was a good thing that the cliff wasn’t too high and the path towards the lake took only a minute of frantic running. Her panic grew when Byulyi’s figure wasn’t anywhere in sight. Did she drown!?

The water smelled. It was too cold. And who knows what kind of creatures were lurking in that murky lake. But Yongsun shook her head, trying to get her priorities straight and readied herself to swim to wherever the idiot landed in. She was about to move when she cried out a shriek– completely startled by the arms suddenly enveloping her waist.

“What– you stink!” Yongsun yelled as she failed to get away from a now soaked Byulyi. The latter simply cackled and nuzzled her nose at Yongsun’s nape, “This is the smell of–”

“–goblins. Merpeople. Corpses!”

“–magic!”

“Okay sure, magic, whatever! Now get away from– yah!” Yongsun let out another shrill when Byulyi unexpectedly lifted her off the ground and inched closer towards the smelly lake.

“Don’t you know, Yongsun-ssi? A fairy once cast her magic here. It was rumored that two people would end up together if they bathe or at least dip their toes in here. And here you are, complaining about how smelly it is, geez.”

Yongsun laughed, most likely because of Byulyi’s hands accidentally tickling her sides– yeah, that’s probably it. Not because she’s enjoying this teasing. Nope.

“Really?” Yongsun managed to ask in between of her giggles that also brought a kilowatt smile to Byulyi’s face.

Byulyi snickered, “No, not really. I just wanted you to get wet,” Yongsun gaped as Byulyi resumed, “Depends on how you take it.”

“Oh my god you ert.”

“Ah ah– Yongsun-ssi, I meant get wet by the water. It seems like you’re the erted one here,” Byulyi smirked and even though Yongsun couldn’t see it, she knew of its existence and swore to wipe it off her greasy face.

“Y-You–”

Byulyi ignored her as she walked faster, probably two to three steps away before Yongsun was above her doom, “Put me down!”

“Okay,” uttered Byulyi when Yongsun’s literally over the water. The brunette jumped and curled her feet, “Wait– no! No! Don’t!”

The thief was about to tease back another snarky reply when Yongsun speedily turned her body around and grabbed onto her like a koala to a branch. Thankfully, Byulyi had good reflexes and rapidly fixed her hold on Yongsun, otherwise the woman would’ve been drenched by now.

Yongsun was panicking too much to register their current position, with her arms wrapped around Byulyi’s neck and legs locked around her waist.

“Yong–…Yongsun-ssi,” Byulyi spoke timidly for the first time, “I was just joking…”

Yongsun lifted her head and gawked at Byulyi, at the water, then at their position. was forming a nervous frown until it curled up to a confident smirk, “What’s wrong Byulyi-ssi?”

She whispered sultrily with newfound bravery, blowing a puff of air to Byulyi’s ear. The silver-haired thief shuddered and her knees wobble for a moment, causing Yongsun to shriek while tightening her hold on Byulyi.

“Goodness, woman! Don’t do that if you don’t want to fall!”

“Maybe if you didn’t carry me all the way over here then we wouldn’t risk this at all!”

“Is it really wise of you to be sassy right now?”

“I’m serious, Moon Byul Yi You better take me back right now or else,” Yongsun glared.

“Oh? Or what, Yeba?”

Yongsun gaped, “Or- or…” she trailed off as her mind attempted to come up with a witty comeback. It took a while and Byulyi refused to wait any further, “Let the fairy do her magic!”

Byulyi was about to crouch when Yongsun latched her teeth to the bridge of her nose, “Ow ow ow! My magnificent nose! What the hell woman!?”

“Take. Me. Back,” Yongsun rolled her eyes and threatened to bite her again. Byulyi fortunately complied with her wish and her feet reconciled with the hard earth.

Byulyi clutched her nose in pain, “You just bit me. And I was once in the water. Ha!” Yongsun gasped in horror, now tasting the horrid lake water in , “Oh god.”

“The fairy is pleased with you, Kim Yong Sun,” Byulyi smugly grinned as they walked back.

“I thought you said that isn’t true.”

“It isn’t. We don’t need a fairy to be together.”

The taste of lake water disappeared and Yongsun’s attention shifted to the heat creeping up to her cheeks.

Yup. Not a dull night at all.

“Yongsun?”

The brunette sat up from her comfortable position on the bed to look at Yonghee, “I washed the dishes already–”

“No– you didn’t. I did. You better wash the dishes tomorrow,” her older sister pointed a finger, “But I’m not here about that.”

Yongsun rose her eyebrow and made space for Yonghee when she motioned for her to scoot. It wasn’t every day for her sister to approach her like this and it was a tad awkward on Yongsun’s part, if she was being completely honest.

“Is it Eric?” Yonghee suddenly gushed like she’s ten years younger. The younger sibling leaned back to escape but her shoulder was tightly gripped by Yonghee in excitement. Yongsun merely stared in confusion. She barely even saw Eric anymore, and when she did, it’s usually just a casual greeting around the market.

“What?”

“It’s Eric isn’t it!? He’s a good catch, Yongsun!”

“Wait, wait, hold up! What are you going on about?”

“Oh please, Yongsun, you’re practically beaming these days,” Yonghee rolled her eyes but Yongsun still missed her point, “You look like you’re in love.”

“What!?” Yongsun stood up, her cheeks blushing fiercely and Yonghee just took it all as more evidence to her statements, “T-That’s–!”

“It’s okay sis, everyone’s been rooting for you and Eric, you look cute together,” Yonghee patted her back, completely ignoring a dumbfounded Yongsun, “Don’t forget to wash the dishes tomorrow!”

And with that, Yonghee shut the door on her way out.

‘What. WHAT!?’ Yongsun almost screamed out loud. It wasn’t even about Eric anymore. Because so far, the only person she’s been spending the majority of her time with was… Byulyi. Moon-freaking-Byul-Yi. Apple Thief.

She’s not in love.

Sure, she loves likes spending almost every single night with said apple thief on an adventure; likes how she knows Byulyi’s laughing genuinely at her antics with the way her nose crinkles; likes how she’s showered with grease even though she denies it out loud; likes how Byulyi gives her the time of the day– but she’s not in love!

She’s not. They’re just friends. Yup. Totally friends.

But then her face reddened again, seeing the all too familiar sight of Byulyi’s upside down head from the outside of her window as she tapped on the glass for her to open.

‘Just friends.’

She repeated in her head whilst Byulyi easily entered her room and extinguished the candle on her nightstand with a small puff of air from .

Just friends. Friends watch their friend’s lips... right?

“Who’s Eric?” Byulyi asked with a frown? Yongsun wasn’t sure if her lips were thinned flat or slightly downwards, but she certainly wasn’t happy.

“A childhood friend around the village,” Yongsun mumbled, carefully observing the other woman’s expression.

The thief hummed in reply, “You guys are close then?”

“You could say that, but we hardly see each other anymore.”

“But didn’t your sister say–”

“–my sister uses a rolling pin as a weapon. Don’t mind her. And how long were you eavesdropping?” Yongsun folded her arms, a teasing smile on her face.

“Just the part about how you and Eric ‘look so good together!’” Byulyi did her best impersonation of Yonghee and Yongsun snickered, “Are you jealous?”

“What? No. Please, Kim Yong Sun. I have Wheein and Hyejin. Haven’t you seen them? They’re the cutest creatures on the planet, it’s unreal,” rambled Byulyi as Yongsun bit her lip to prevent her smile from becoming too wide.

“Alright, Moon Byul Yi. I believe you.”

“Good. You better. Because it’s the truth,” Byulyi huffed, suddenly